FIFA Soccer 2005

Spiffy:

Iffy:

Has opponent AI gotten better?

EA's FIFA Soccer series has been lording over the futbol scene since 1993, and it wasn't until recently that it's had any serious competition. While Konami's Winning Eleven series has been tearing up the pitch on the PS2, FIFA is still the unquestioned ruler on the Xbox. For many fans, however, FIFA Soccer 2004 was a bit of a letdown. Sure, the graphics were great and the career mode was deep, but issues with player control and AI left a lot of people wondering if EA would be able to stay dominant for much longer.

It's no surprise then that in the newest version, FIFA Soccer 2005, the developers have listened to their fans and attempted to fix all of the problems. We were recently given a demo of the new game, and things are definitely looking up. Since it's the second year of the core engine, the developers have been able to spend more time tweaking and fine-tuning the game, and it really shows.

One of the biggest new features is the Fluid Player Kinetic System. EA has improved the sensitivity of the analog stick and the buttons, giving you more control over the player with the ball. In the previous titles, changing direction or stopping would be shown as a quick animation (although it wasn't obvious to most people), which gave your opponent an extra split-second to steal the ball from you. With the new system, everything is done on the fly, so it looks and plays much smoother.

Another new implementation is something the producers are calling First Touch. This is a subtle change, but it can really change the dynamic of the game. Most affected is the passing system. Before, if you passed the ball to one of your teammates, he would have to slow down a bit to corral the ball before continuing forward. Breaking momentum allows your opponent to catch up with you, thus giving him more of a chance to steal. The producers explained that First Touch allows you to be in control of the ball, without necessarily being in possession of it.

The developers also reworked the interaction zones for the virtual players. A player receiving a high ball can stop it with his head or chest, barely slowing down to drop it to his feet. The more aware your players are, the easiest they are able to do this.

This awareness is another new feature of the game. For the first time, EA has updated the rating system it's been using in its database of players. Previous games rated players on a scale of 1-10 on such skills as passing, running, and shooting. FIFA Soccer 2005 now rates players on a 1-30 scale, and better players have much better anticipation and field awareness than lesser players. This allows them to get open faster, which leads to more scoring chances.

The last point the producers touched on was increasing localization options for fans. While there are over 15000 players in the game already, teams are constantly updating rosters. To keep up with this, they've implemented a create-a-player system that's reminiscent of their Tiger Woods series. When creating a player, you can tweak his looks using a myriad of options, and it's amazing how close you can get to making him look like the real thing. On the bottom of the player creation screen, there is a long code called EA DNA. Once you've created the player, you can save the code and distribute it however you wish. EA is hoping that local fan newspapers and websites will give out codes for any new player that joins their home team, so fans can simply plug in the code and start playing with him. This will help keep the game fresh for a long time.

With FIFA Soccer 2005, EA is hoping to solidify its iron grip on the Xbox's soccer scene. From what we've seen so far, they're on their way to claiming the cup.